The House of Cards (#7.08)

Big Finish, Companion Chronicles

This story is a bit challenging as it jumps right in, no
introduction of the crew in the TARDIS getting lost, no battle to be fought and
won, no mystery to be figured out. It’s
just action all the way! Polly is the
focus of the action in this one, with some backup from Jamie. Ben turns out to be an itinerate gambler by
nature and the Doctor is rescuing and being rescued. There are robot dogs and Lucky Bill, a
gambler lost in the system. He is the
only real moral to this story. Otherwise
it’s just Polly and Jamie running around trying to save themselves and others.

So this is a very 2nd Doctor era story and I could
see them doing it back then on TV as there aren’t many sets. I didn’t love the story but it was good. The other characters that our heroes interact
with are snake syndicate people, a lady in a porcelain mask, Lucky Bill the
gambler, and Fortune, the casino owner. Those
characters are more stereotypical and no character development really occurs
for them. Or for the TARDIS crew, for
that matter. It’s just an adventure
story! And for that I will give it 4
jelloids.